Cras es Noster
by EpsilonBeta
Summary: Cras es Noster (The Future is Ours) Formerly titled "Shepard Awakens". Post-ME:3 Shakarian fanfic. Rated M for Violence, Adult Language and Smut. Please Read and Review. I do not own the Mass Effect universe or any characters that feature therein. Credit to Bioware.
1. 1: Shepard Awakens

The world faded in and out of blackness, and Shepard was only vaguely aware of the glare of fluorescent lighting and white tiles rushing overhead. _Hospital? _She wondered. A familiar voice, low and fraught with concern growled out nearby, "You can't let her die. Not again." and the world slipped away once more.

When next she awoke, there were voices again, but she couldn't quite muster the strength to open her eyes... She heard a mature, female voice, that she couldn't quite place...  
"You should get some rest. I'll get one of the porters to drag an extra bed in here. I'd tell you to go back to the ship if I thought it would do any good. At any rate, you'll be no use to anyone if you spend another night in that chair. Not exactly built for comfort, those things."  
At that, there was a throaty chuckle from another person in the room, her mind connected it as coming from the same source as the voice she heard last time she stirred. She searched her mind for answers. _Who is in here with me..?_Then suddenly everything fell into place. Visions flashed before her eyes. The Crucible. The Reapers. Dying under rubble...

Months before that, being held by strong Turian arms, as she wept for the friends she kept losing. The sweet nothings he whispered in her ear to comfort her, in that rich, velvety voice she so adored. The way his mandibles flared as he smiled at her later that evening, after kissing her. It was an act of affection that shouldn't have come naturally to them, but to her, his lip plates felt like the most spectacular thing in the world. So much of him was so harsh and unforgiving, but she needed that as much as she needed the gentler, kinder nature of his spirit, the side no-one else really saw. He was the thing that had grounded her, as she had dragged them to hell and back on her mission to save the galaxy. Her reason to fight; no longer just the hoard of faceless, nameless bodies that depended on her, but her mate, her future.  
Her Garrus.

And now he spoke again, voice the same, deep rumble she remembered. "Thanks Doc, I'd appreciate that."  
Shepard struggled with herself to show she was awake. It was hard, but eventually she managed to move her hand a little. With control of herself returning, she pushed open her eyelids, turned her head, and saw him there. So handsome, so alien, so perfect. "No need," she croaked, and her throat felt like sandpaper. "I've slept long enough, I should really get up." The look of shock on his face put a smile on hers, and then he grinned back at her.  
"You stubborn, stubborn woman. You did it, again. They nearly stopped CPR... I told the doctor kept going when he should have called it. I think I scared the poor man half to death. Then, there you were... But you'd been dead, actually _dead _for a while. They thought you were going to suffer serious brain damage when you woke up, if you managed it at all..." Garrus shook his head, and looked at her in awe.  
"You knew me better than that," She whispered, filling up with pride in her mate. Her heart swelled with his faith in her, his loyalty and devotion. "Takes more than a little death to kill me, right? Get the Doc back in here, so I can get out of this awful place. Hospitals and I..._ Do. Not. Mix_."


	2. 2: Let's Get the Hell Out Of Here

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: SORRY FOR THE DELAY IN POSTING, GUYS, AND SORRY IT'S TAKING SO LONG TO GET INTO PLOT. CHRISTMAS AND FAMILY LIFE HAS BEEN TAKING IT'S TOLL ON ME. I PLAN TO HAVE CHAPTER 3 WITH YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE SO WE CAN GET ON TO ACTUAL PLOT. HOPE YOU'RE GETTING INTO THE STORY SO FAR...]

* * *

**Garrus**

_ "Shepard! NO!" He screamed, running to her as fast as he could. The beam hit her. Oily shadows, dragging her down. A building nearby collapsed, scattering rubble over the unconscious, prone form of his mate. Garrus panicked, the thought of losing her eliciting a pained howl from his throat. When at last he reached her, he began lifting chunks of rubble away. He pulled her, limp and frail from the rubble, her face covered in thick, claret blood and matting into her hairline. Such beautiful auburn hair, so fascinating and alien... Just like the woman herself. He tried checking for a pulse at her neck. Nothing. An eternity stretched before him, holding the small, pale woman in his arms.  
"Shep... You can't leave me. Not again."_

Garrus woke with a start, panting heavily. Looking at the clock, he considered his next move. _05.00 GMT, suppose it's as good an hour to get up as any,_ he thought, before rolling out of bed and into the shower.

**Shepard**

Shepard was tired, bored and increasingly exasperated with her lingering time in the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery, London. She didn't like sitting still at the best of times, and even less so when people were checking up on her every five minutes and lecturing her as if she were a child.

"Doctor, I'm fine. Honestly. I know my name, my date of birth, my entire life history! I can walk, talk and I would dance, but as my partner would tell you, I couldn't do that _before_ I got hit by a reaper beam. If at all possible, I think my memory might well be better now than it ever has been. Please just get Dr. Chakwas in here. She's been my doctor for years on the Normandy, she knows me better than any other physician. She also knows very well that I don't like hospitals, and would recover much better if I could be on my ship, having a few weeks R&R," Shepard sighed and drew a slow, calming breath. "I want to be with my partner. I want to sleep in my own bed. Just let me have that."

The Salarian doctor eyed Shepard with a suspicious gaze. "Very well, Commander. I will put in a request for Dr. Chakwas to take over your care, and get the paperwork started so you can be home soon," he brightened up a little, or so she thought. He turned to walk away, but shot a glance over his shoulder at the door. "Although, Commander, expect quite a lecture from the good Doctor. She was... Somewhat worried about you while you were here." Then off he strode, as fast as his nimble little legs would carry him.

Shepard sighed once more and climbed from her bed, padding softly to the wardrobe to see if she had been left any clothes. She smiled at what she found there, her favourite black tshirt and loose, cotton pants - the ones she threw on straight out of bed most mornings, before she went sparring with Garrus and Vega. Pulling them on over the various sore welts across her skin was like walking through fire, but well worth it to have another little part of her life back.

Of course most of her life would be different now... It had to be. She finally had a chance at a future. A chance to have a home that wasn't on a ship. The last 32 years of her life had been spent in space, at first with her mother Hannah, and then when she enlisted at 18. The possibility was scary and fascinating, all at once. Where would she go now? What would she do? Should she retire and settle down? What about that Turian-Human baby Garrus mentioned before the final push to the Conduit?

She tried to imagine what their child might look like. A small, soft, chubby little person with Garrus's eyes and nose, a slightly smaller mandible structure than the Turian average, human skin and lips, blunt omnivore teeth behind them, the turian fringe structure with a soft smattering of hair across it. Three fingers or five (including the opposable thumb present in both species, of course)? Shepard tried to put the thought to the back of her mind for now, knowing full well that it wasn't likely, unless they could find an exceptional geneticist the equal of her old friend Mordin Solus... Who, like so many others now, was dead.

A throat-clearing cough at the door pulled her from her reverie. "Commander?" called Dr. Karin Chakwas from the door. "How are you feeling?"  
"Like hell, Karin, but about 75 percent of that is just being in here," Shepard gestured around the room, indicating the hospital at large. "I'm sore and tired, I just want to go home. Be with Garrus. The usual stuff."  
Dr. Chakwas walked over to Shepard, examining her silently, in the manner of an old friend rather than a physician. "You look it, Shepard, but I don't think it's anything we can't fix with time and medigel. You might have a few scars though, but I can't see Garrus being too bothered. I think the man is just glad to have you alive..." Karin paused, visibly erring about how to phrase her next point. "You died again, Shepard. Your Cerberus implants saved your brain long enough for them transport you back here and get your heart started, but that was a damned close call. Don't ever do that to us again." Her voice was a whisper at this point, and there were tears in the older woman's eyes. Shepard put an arm around her friend to pull her close and replied earnestly."I won't. I promise. Now let's get the hell out of here."

**The United Races Council  
(Formerly The Citadel Council)**

"We have a lot of work to do," began the Asari Councillor. "Not only must we replace the Human representative quickly and efficiently, but we must also begin work on a new citadel. We need you, Captain Anderson, and we need the Systems Alliance."  
Anderson cleared his throat and continued to stare at the council in awe.  
Councillor Sparatus continued from where the Asari cut off. "I know we have disagreed over many issues, Captain, but Udina was a grave mistake. Tevos is right. You are the only person for this job, the only human the council can trust with this, and I don't see there being a great deal of galactic conflict in the days to come. The Batarians have been decimated."  
A deep sigh overcame Anderson, as he took a step forward. "Then I accept your offer as re-instatement. I swear to serve my race as a representative of this council. Again."  
Councillor Valern shifted in her seat, "Fantastic. We will need you to prepare a team of your finest to collaborate on the technical aspects of the build. Also... We'd like a few suggestions from you, on the subject of Commander Shepard..."


	3. 3: There's No Vakarian Without Vakarian

[AUTHOR'S NOTE: OKAY, SO HERE WE ARE, CHAPTER 3. KINDA PUMPED THIS OUT IN A RUSH, HOPING TO GET ON WITH SOME MORE PLOT BUT DIDN'T FEEL RIGHT SKIPPING PAST THIS FANTASTIC REUNION. HOPE THERE AREN'T TOO MANY TYPOS AND GRAMMAR-FAILS. LET ME KNOW IF THERE ARE. I PROOF READ, BUT ALWAYS END UP MISSING SOMETHING.

BE WARNED, ABOUT 2/3 OF THIS CHAPTER IS SEX. IF THAT BOTHERS YOU, SKIP THIS WHOLE STORY. THERE WILL BE A REASONABLE AMOUNT OF SEX THROUGHOUT, AS SHEP AND GARRUS ARE BOTH HOT-BLOODED CREATURES WITH A HEALTHY SEX LIFE. THERE WILL ALSO BE PLOT IN THE MIDDLE. BUT WE'RE GETTING THERE, SLOWLY. HOPE YOU ENJOY, AND AS ALWAYS, PLEASE REVIEW.]

* * *

**Shepard**

Being back on the Normandy was a relief in itself, and she made a point of checking in with Joker to see how he and EDI were doing, only to find them rather absorbed in a crappy rom-com vid, holding hands. Shepard backed out slowly, not wishing to intrude. Their working relationship, while at first it had been strained, had progressed into a blossoming romance. Shepard had never seen Joker so happy, and that brought a smile to her own face, as she wandered off in the direction of her quarters. _My favourite part of running my own ship,_ she mused, _is watching people grow. Joker actually smiles, EDI is learning more about her emotions... Jack got all maternal. Miranda found out how great having a sister could be. Liara went from a shy, socially awkward scientist to being the Shadow Broker. Wrex became leader of what is now the largest of all Krogan clans. Garrus... Disillusioned and angsty C-Sec officer, then cold-hearted badass vigilante, and somewhere down the line 'loving partner and savior of the savior of the galaxy' right there. Kaidan... Kaidan just became an asshole. _With everyone else around her changing so much, Shepard wondered how much she had really changed...

When she arrived at her cabin, she threw her seabag roughly in the direction of her bed, wincing at the pain as semi-healed scars pulled and stretched with the movement. Shepard stripped down and headed to the bathroom, looking forward to a hot shower and a nap.

She examined her naked form in the mirror, and tried to see the various people she had once been, what seemed like a thousand lifetimes ago. Memories that occasionally seemed to belong to someone else... The child that would run up to her loving mother Hannah when she came home, grabbing her in a rough hug around the legs, the way small children do. That child all but disappeared from Shepard a long time ago... The features were still similar but her hair had darkened with the years and the innocence behind that wide-eyed expression was long gone. The naive girl enlisting aged 18, wanting to change the galaxy. Well, that girl got a hell of a lot more than she had bargained for. Shepard smiled to herself. The Spectre candidate, heading to Eden Prime with Nihilus in search of a Prothean Beacon. The wonder Shepard had felt at being selected for candidacy, and then the shitstorm that followed with Saren and his Geth. That was the day that started it all...

She didn't regret much of her life. She just wished she hadn't lost so many people along the way. An image of Ashley popped into her mind. Losing her on Virmire tore a massive chunk out of Shepard's heart that couldn't be replaced. Sure, she might have been a sanctimonious bigot, a xenophobe, and a massive bitch on one of her good days, but Shepard honestly felt that time and exposure to new, grounded people of different upbringings, races and cultures could have changed that. Sometimes Shepard regretted saving Kaidan instead that day, and even more often after he shunned her on Horizon.

Shepard sighed and looked back at herself in the mirror. _What have I become? _She wondered, eyeing up the fresh scars littering her body. Most of her scars from the Cerberus rebuild had faded in the time since, but these new ones were almost as extensive as they had been. Her back was a puckered mess, a long, deep slash across her stomach looked as though she had almost been shorn in two. _I have the luck of the devil himself..._ _How the hell do I manage this shit?_ Shepard sighed and turned on the shower, stepping under the hot spray as the room filled with steam. She leaned against the far wall and began to defocus, letting her concerns wash down the drain with the water. Eventually the hot water from the shower mixed with tears, as she vented her frustrations in the only place she allowed this little weakness to show. Her tears built up to be huge sobs, her whole body wracked with guilt for failing the friends she couldn't save, for almost dying again and scaring the friends she had managed to keep with her.

**Garrus and Shepard**

She was interrupted by strong, Turian hands on her shoulders, the nakedness of Garrus up against her rear. "You didn't tell me you were back." he whispered, littering her neck with little nibbles.  
She choked back a sob, trying to hide her tears. Garrus knew about her little habit, that she would sneak into the shower occasionally to cry out the worries she couldn't shift any other way, but he'd never actually seen her weep before. "You were busy calibrating. Didn't want to disturb. "  
"Bullshit, woman." There was no malice in his voice, but a little force with the first word. Garrus hated being lied to, even over something as minor as this. "You're doing that thing where your face leaks again. When will you get it into your stubborn head that there is _no shame_ in getting emotions out of your system? Fucking, fighting, crying... All totally legitimate responses to stress. " He pulled her into him, hands roaming over the alien body he found so beautiful. Found the scar across her stomach, spun her around and bent to press his lip plates against it, the closest to a human kiss he could imitate, and then pressed his forehead to it lightly. Shepard couldn't cry while he was doing that... It was both comforting, and deeply arousing. Garrus yanked her even closer, a tight embrace around her lower back, and bit softly at her waist, increasing the pressure slightly when he was sure he wasn't hurting her.

She let out a gasp of pleasure at the sensation, the heat rising between her thighs. She dropped to her knees opposite him and began softly kissing his mandibles, licking down to the tips and sucking teasingly as she stroked the back of his head, touching the sensitive spot just below the fringe. Her mouth wandered down his neck, nipping gently on the way, and found his cowl structure, before nuzzling just inside it as she straddled his slender waist.

A low, coarse growl began in Garrus's chest as Shepard's delicate, human body teased him with it's proximity. His plates began to part as his erection grew, begging for her attention. Warm water poured over the couple as they explored each other slowly and delicately, until Garrus felt as though his very skin were on fire and he might burst with the pressure if he didn't release soon. He didn't want to hurt her, with her still-healing wounds, but taking so long over the process when he hadn't been able to hold her in weeks was becoming increasingly frustrating. So when Shepard stood, flicking off the water and leaving the room without a word, Garrus was left with a sense of confusion virtually unmatched by anything he had felt before.

So when he followed her through to the main body of her cabin after drying himself slightly, and saw her standing there facing away from him, he didn't know what to do. His erection strained harder against his will as he witnessed her drying that soft, creamy skin with a fluffy towel, bathed in the blue light of her aquarium, damp hair curling gently as it dried. The dark patches of fresh scarring were unbelievably sexy, reminiscent to him of some tattoos occasional Humans adorned their bodies with. Shepard had a couple of those once, but they had been wiped during her Cerberus rebuild and the healing process that followed. He'd asked her about them at one point in the past, and she said she would like to get some more once she left military service. The only one of her previous tattoos that she missed with real conviction was her N7 badge, but the mark that represented went far deeper than her skin. N7 had been a part of her soul for many, many years now.

"Get your ass over here, Garrus." She demanded, the commanding tone blending with the rich tones of desire in her husky voice. He obliged, taking long, powerful strides over to her and lifting her in his arms and over to their bed. Garrus placed her down, nudging her knees apart with his own as he kneeled in front of her and bent his head to serve her needs. Hot, and damp and sweet, he knew from memory that her sex tasted and smelled as good as the rest of her. His spread his mouth wide and tilted his head slightly as he lapped gently at her, probing firmly with his tongue once he was sure she was as aroused as he was, alternating between delicate nips of his sharp, predatory teeth pulling at her labia, and his rough tongue caressing the sensation away, flicking lightly over her clitoris with the expert precision she loved him for.

She laid back, savouring the feeling of his alien mouth on her for a moment before she demanded mutual pleasure, tugging firmly at his fringe and guiding him up to meet her mouth. She kissed him with a slow-burning passion as she languorously teased the edges of his pelvic plates, taking great care not to touch his urgent, throbbing erection just yet. Pulling away from his mouth, and with a devilish pout on her own, she rolled onto her stomach, presenting him with her wetness and sliding back to rub against him in case her shifting of positions was too subtle. She knew it wasn't, but it never hurt to be forward with Garrus. The harsh intake of breath, followed by the ragged groan from him as he slipped into her was sweeter than anything else Shepard knew.

_Oh Spirits, she is always so tight, _Garrus thought, holding still as to calm the immediate desire for release that was approaching a little too fast for his liking. He ran a hand through her hair, gripping a large chunk of it as he made a fist close to her scalp, the way she'd taught him to when she told him how much she loved her big, strong Turian to take control of her in the bedroom. And then she moved forwards, pulling away, before thrusting back hard against him, her entire body began clenching and quivering as she neared her own release, deep moans and high-pitched mewls escaping her lips with every thrust. Garrus couldn't remain passive any longer, and he began to thrust back, meeting her halfway, increasing the urgency as they came together. He felt the tingle at the base of his spine as he neared his orgasm, hovering just on the edge, the way she clenched him spurring him on, then she began to shake, bucking her hips back against him, slamming them harder and harder together, her movements far less controlled than they had been. Suddenly he was gone, the world fading in and out of focus and she was all there was in his universe. He gripped her hips with one hand, holding her in place as he finished.

Finally they laid together on the bed, panting and kissing and stroking each other as the aftershocks subsided. "I love you, Shepard," he whispered. "Thanks for coming back to me."  
"Any time, Vakarian. Although, I have a question for you..." She held her breath tentatively. "Will you marry me?"  
He stroked her sweat-damp hair from her face and looked into her eyes, piercing blue staring into her soul.  
"Of course. But wouldn't it be 'There's no Vakarian without Vakarian', then?" He chuckled, flinching away as he anticipated the incoming punch in the ribs from his little Human.


	4. 4: The Council's Revenge

**Anderson**

Anderson sat at a desk in his office on the Destiny Ascension, temporary headquarters of the United Races Council. His VI secretary's avatar popped up on the desk, the form of a human woman with waist length, curly hair, only 12 inches tall. It gave Anderson what appeared to be a small smile. "Councillor, Commander Shepard is available on Vidcomm."  
"Thanks Amelia, that will be all."

Anderson wandered over to his Vidcomm terminal and accepted the call.  
"Shepard, good to see you alive and kicking."  
Shepard chuckled as her hologram flickered into life, looking relaxed for once. She brushed her hair from her face with a hand. "You know me, sir. I'm far too damn busy to die. Good to see you too. What can I do for you?"  
"I've been roped back into representing Humanity for the council. I actually wanted to ask you to head a task force for me. We've already got the mass relays up and functioning again, but we're going to need a new base of operations, and a new security force to head it.. Assuming you aren't too busy, of course...?"  
"Oh Anderson, you know I'm never too busy for you," Shepard gave a dry giggle. "So what am I doing?"  
"We've got you a list of names, all we need is for you to go through it, do background checks and approve the people you want. I imagine Vakarian will come in useful on that front. He's sticking around, I assume?"  
"I guess you could say that," Shepard paused, blushing. "We're getting married, sir."  
Anderson was a little stunned. He knew they were close, but hadn't heard a great deal about the specifics of their relationship. After a moment of thought, an idea popped into his head. "Well, congratulations Shepard. Hey, I hate to play the politician all over your personal life, but have you thought of the implications of a cross-species marriage?"  
"Not really sir, I mean, surely we can't be the first, right?"  
"Definitely the first Human-Turian couple to get married. I don't think it's even technically legal, yet. Of course it hasn't really been an issue until now. The First Contact War wasn't that long ago. Most interspecies couples get a lot of flack, even half-Asari couples get it from the other races. It's less common for them, but it still happens. Human-Turian couples... There's a lot of bad blood on both sides, Shepard. Plus, Humanity has more bigots than most species out there."  
A touch of sadness played on Shepard's features. "So, the first Human spectre becomes a ground-breaking case in interspecies marriage law, by marrying a Turian. Al-Jiani's going to be all over this. Can I just go hide in a cave on Virmire for the rest of my life? I hate that woman."  
"You're not the only one, Commander." Anderson sighed.  
"Okay, so, what kind of persuading am I going to need to do with the council to organize this?"  
"I'll handle the paperwork Shepard. The council owes you. The other councillors have been fussing over what they could do to honour you properly for the past several weeks. How would you feel about this amendment to Council law being dubbed the 'Shepard-Vakarian Act'? There'll be some sort of ceremony, of course, you know how the Council loves pomp. And you'll probably have to wear a dress."  
Shepard grimaced.  
Anderson laughed. "I'll try and get you out of making a speech, but no guarantees."  
"Thanks Anderson, it means a lot," Shepard smiled. "I should head off and tell Garrus. Shepard out."

Anderson walked over to his desk, where he sat down again and sighed heavily. "Well, holy _shit. _That was unexpected. Amelia, could you contact the other councillors, have them meet me in the briefing room. We've got work to do."

**Garrus and Shepard**

He found the commander back in her quarters, lying on her bed, her knees up slightly. She wore an issue under-shirt with panties and had a datapad in one hand. He noticed that her hair was damp, presumably she'd not long been out of the shower.  
"Hey good-lookin'," she called, not looking up. "Got some news for you, might wanna sit down first though."  
"Why, my little sweetling, do I get a really bad feeling when you say that?" Garrus stalked over and sat on the bed next to her, stroking her hair. His hand wandered, talons tracing a line down her neck, gently stroking down her shoulder to the soft swell of her breasts. Noticing the lack of a bra under her the thin, cotton undershirt she was wearing, he pinched a nipple lightly between his thumb and forefinger, teasing her as she tried to continue reading. He could smell the pheromones pouring off her as her arousal picked up, but she didn't show any outward signs. He wondered how long she would pretend to be distracted before she caved in to his need, and her own. He bent down and lifted her shirt, licking a line up the inside of her hip. Her body involuntarily quivered under his tongue. That was when, she put her datapad down to one side and looked down at him. Voice breathy, she said "Hey, can it wait for a bit? I'm in the middle of some... Calibrations." Before roaring with laughter.  
Garrus sat up and looked at her, stunned. "You... You've been waiting for the opportunity to use that one for a while haven't you?"  
"Hell yes, darlin'. Seriously, I said I had news for you, and I do. We," At this point she sat up, reached over and took his hands in hers. "Are going to be the first Human-Turian couple in history to get legally married under the Council's authority. Probably the first interspecies couple as well. Asari don't really marry, so... Yeah. That leaves us. Anderson's going to sort the formalities, but, and this is the bit you'll love, they're going to call the amendment the Shepard-Vakarian act. We, and I say we because there is no way in hell I'm doing this alone, will probably have to make a speech."  
"You've got to be joking." Garrus looked blank, no hint of emotion behind those piercing blue eyes.  
Shepard winced. "Not a jot. Sorry."  
"This... is... _bizarre._"  
"Yep. And that's only the first surprise of the day."  
"I think I need to lie down."


	5. 5: Every Action Has A Reaction

**EDI and Joker**

EDI and Joker sat watching the vid feed of Shepard breaking the bad half of the news to Garrus in their quarters. He wasn't taking it well.

"SIDONIS? LANTAR SIDONIS!" Garrus yelled. An angry Turian was a formidable thing, and all credit to Commander Shepard, she was standing her ground impressively, if quietly. "YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME!"  
"No, Garrus, I'm not kidding. We gave him a second chance on the Citadel for a reason. We gave him a second chance because we thought he deserved it. I've run the background checks, he's clean. He deserves a chance at this," Shepard sat on the bed, where she had been when she passed the datapad over to him, and where she would remain. It wasn't like the Commander to be provoked by another person's anger, even if that person was Garrus. Garrus paced up and down in front of the bed, consumed by rage. "And you _need_ to get over what happened on Omega."

"I feel kinda bad watching this, EDI, but I can't turn it off. It's kinda like watching an air-car crash." Joker grimaced. "He's fucking scary when he's mad, and she's _just sitting there. _Like he's a child throwing a tantrum or something."  
"I understand, Jeff. Turning off camera feeds from their room." The screen went black. "I think, judging by Agent Vakarian's current state of mind, that might have been for the best. Remind me to get the maintenance crew in to the Captain's cabin when they are finished. Vakarian just left a rather large dent in the wall. Don't worry Jeff, no danger of hull breach."

**Lantar Sidonis,  
****_(Currently on Palaven)_**

Working on the clean-up crews was hard work, but rewarding. It had been a long time since Lantar had done anything so manual, but it was worth the pain. Every building repaired, every family allowed home, felt to him like a little part of his soul was returning. He'd been without it for so long after he screwed up on Omega. Turning himself in to C-Sec was just the first step on his path to redemption. Commander Bailey, influenced in no small part by Shepard, had taken pity on him, had even gone so far as to offer him a job with C-Sec. He'd taken it gratefully, but when the Citadel was rendered effectively useless by the reaper war, as many Turian C-Sec officers as could be spared were re-purposed as part of the clean-up crews for harsh Turian worlds like Palaven, where Humans would all but melt from the radiation. Lantar couldn't help but think back to the good times on Omega, where he and Vakarian had made a real difference to the lives of so many innocent people. This was almost as good as back then.  
He heard a shout from across the street. "Sidonis, snap out of it! Quentius wants to see you in his office, now."

**Karin Chakwas**

Karin stared at the file that had been left on her desk the day Mordin had left to cure the genophage, and made the ultimate sacrifice for his work. She hadn't recognised the handwriting across the front, thinking it odd of someone to write a hard copy, particularly of such an extensive file, considering how real paper was such an expensive luxury these days. It almost felt intrusive since it wasn't directly addressed to her. As time passed it merely sat gathering dust in a medbay drawer. And so here she was, indecisive and a little anxious, about to open the file. When she opened it she found a small envelope with her name on, written in English rather than the odd, alien script that was the Galactic Common Tongue. It looked as though the person who had written this wasn't used to drawing the characters, so it definitely wasn't a native earth-born human, if it was a human at all. She opened the letter and began to read, her heart in her throat.  
_  
Dr. Chakwas,_

_Since you are reading this, it is likely that I have passed on. Hope it was an honourable death. This file contains important research relating to the interspecies hybridization process I have been working on for Commander Shepard. She does not currently know,if I have passed on, might be best if you tell her. Have friends in STG willing to continue my research. Pleased with this, and at prospect of curing genophage. Always more satisfying to give life than to take it. Very close to completion, though no live tests completed, was concerned about ethical implications. Have run repeated simulations, however. Could be ready within the year. Contact Mordin Vass at STG, he will have been informed and had latest copies of my work. Look through this paper copy yourself and update it when you get further results from Vass. Thought Shepard might like the file once it is complete. Tell Shepard... Thank you._

_Your friend and colleague,_

_Mordin Solus._

Karin leaned back in her chair and sighed, before pulling a glass out from the bottom drawer of her desk, along with a bottle of brandy. She poured herself a glass and raised it to the room, in silent toast. _Well, Mordin,_ she thought, _that's going to be one hell of a wedding gift._

**Garrus and Shepard**

Garrus's attitude was slowly beginning to grate on her. She felt her rage rising behind the cool, calm exterior. Breathing and counting to ten only did so much to calm the tide.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU WANT THAT S.O.B. ON OUR TEAM."  
"Garrus, he'll be working under us, we'll be able to keep an eye on him pretty much constantly, and he's already proved himself capable with C-Sec. He's now on Palaven doing clean-up. I've already made my decision on this. You're starting to sound like a scratched Holodisc and I have to say it's getting pretty fucking dull. Having your approval would be nice, but you can't honestly think I'm going to cave in on my judgement just because you throw a tantrum?" Shepard stood up at this point. Garrus was succeeding at goading her, questioning her judgement was one of her very few sore spots successfully brought on over the last few years dealing with the council. "I thought you respected me more than that, and now you're just acting like a spoiled child. Well, suck it up, buttercup. Dismissed, Agent Vakarian." She pointed at the door, a clear 'get the fuck out of my sight' gesture. This only managed to make Garrus angrier. He looked her in the eyes and snarled, pushing her back against the fish tank, towering over her. Shepard stood her ground, not blinking, standing straight until she was only a few inches shorter than him, and suddenly a whole lot scarier. Both of their eyes were cold, staring at each other with steely determination and the resolve of seasoned warriors faced with an equal foe.  
"Shepard." He growled, his body pressing against her as he placed his forehead upon hers, still looking directly in his mate's eyes. None of the love and delicacy that was usually there, just blind, primal fury. Unfortunately Shepard felt pretty much the same and this attempt made her even more dangerous. She was set on a hair-trigger, ready to snap at the next push, the slightest violation of her personal space. Walls were up, Eloisa Shepard was no longer behind those eyes, he was staring into the eyes of the Alliance's poster-girl, Commander Shepard, CO of the Normandy. She hadn't got there by taking shit from men who thought they could question her validity, then attempt to fuck her.  
"Not a fucking chance in hell, Vakarian. I said, dismissed."  
In his rage, Garrus punched the fish tank behind her, thankfully void of fish as she was having it cleaned that day. Still, the glass cracked and shattered, spraying water all over them both, but mostly over Shepard. A few shards of glass came with the water, cutting her back and legs. Shepard lost it, then, totally overcome with the desire to make Garrus see the consequences of pissing her off first-hand. She punched him in the face, right across the bridge of the nose, and watched with satisfaction as he hit the deck unconscious.

"EDI, you may want to get a clean-up crew in here. I'm heading down to the medbay to find some medigel. I don't suppose you could ask Liara to meet me in there, and bring me a change of clothes? I don't fancy sticking around to find anything of mine." She looked down at Garrus with disdain before stepping carefully out the door.

"Yes, Commander. Logging you out."

**[Author's note: Oooh, so Garrus and Shepard had their first real fight! Even I wasn't really expecting that, but it didn't seem like my Shepard to just let him walk all over her, and then, well, it just escalated. Next update coming ASAP.]**


	6. 6: Every Action Has A Reaction pt 2

**Shepard**

Coming out of the elevator on her way to the med bay, Shepard walked straight in to Kaidan. The impact knocked her off balance and she fell on her rear. _Oh, deep joy, _she thought, raising her head to meet his eyes, before pulling herself to her feet.  
"Shepard, what the hell?"  
She looked down at herself, remembering that she was soaked and bleeding.  
"Fish tank broke."  
"And the shouting half the crew has been hearing for the last hour?"  
"Garrus was being an fucking asshole. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get to med bay."  
Shepard tried to push past him, but found he blocked her path, grabbing her arm and roughly spinning her around to get a look at the cuts on her legs. "Did _he_ do this?_"  
"_Fish tank broke, I told you. Now get out of my way, Kaidan, otherwise you will regret it. My patience is non-existent today."  
Kaidan eventually stepped out of the way, with death in his eyes, and charged towards the elevator, presumably up to Shepard's room.

She walked into the medbay, adrenalin wearing off fast. Dr. Chakwas wasn't there, so she found a tub of medigel on a shelf, made a mental note of where it was, grabbed a gown and headed to the women's crew bathroom. When she returned, she found Liara waiting with a worried expression and a catsuit in roughly Shepard's size.  
"Hey, Liara, don't suppose you could do me a favour and slap some medigel on me? Got some minor cuts, could do with a quick patch up so they don't get infected." Shepard pulled off her gown and laid face down on a bed, so Liara could apply the gel.  
"Sure, Shepard. Brought you something to wear as well, as EDI asked. Is everything okay? Do you want to stay in my quarters tonight?"  
Shepard laughed. "Well, I was thinking of bunking with Vega..."  
Liara looked shocked.  
"That was a joke, Liara. Although seriously, I was considering taking a shuttle back down to Earth and finding a nice little hidey-hole for a couple of days. Garrus just made the mother of all fuck ups, and stupid woman that I am, I let him provoke me." Shame played on the commander's features, looking around, anywhere but Liara's eyes. Her voice went small. "I actually knocked him out. I don't doubt that he deserved it, just feel bad that it went that far. I'm kinda hurt by how he acted, and more disappointed in myself for not keeping my cool." She winced as Liara rubbed the medigel over the tiny wounds.  
"Of course you lost your temper, Shepard. You love him. You feel all emotions towards him stronger than you would for anyone else. That's a good thing. He feels the same. Give it a few hours, let yourselves work the emotions out of your systems, and go back to it. I bet once he wakes up, he'll realize what a moron he's been and want to make it up to you. All done. You should let that sit for a few minutes and then get dressed. We'll go get a coffee in my quarters and I can show you some shady, Shadow Broker gossip. Appears one of the Asari councillor's underlings has a major thing for Batarians and got caught on vid." She grinned, just at the moment Dr. Chakwas walked in.  
"Commander, what on Earth went on in your quarters? I've just been up there to check Garrus. Do you realize how hard you have to hit a Turian to knock them unconscious? Let me have a look at your hand, I'll be damned if you haven't broken it." Chakwas questioned, panic making her speech far quicker and less punctuated than her usual vocal patterns.  
Shepard held her hands up and wiggled her fingers. "I'm fine, Karin. Little sore, but Cerberus cybernetics have been pretty good for my right hook." She sat up and began to get dressed.  
"I'm not going to ask any inconvenient questions Shepard, since I know you can both take care of yourselves, but I must make it clear that I do not approve of this behaviour."  
"I don't either, Karin. It won't happen again, and I'm sorry. We didn't mean to worry anyone, just had a disagreement that went a little too far. We'll get over it, I hope."  
"Good. Anyway, Kaidan came up while I was checking Garrus over, so I think his pride may be more damaged than anything else. No apparent concussion. Although I had to make Kaidan leave when I did because I was certain if I left them alone Garrus wouldn't be the only one I'd be patching up."

A few hours later, Shepard was hiding in the main battery, listening to music while lying across a few crates stacked together. She heard a familiar cough nearby, so pulled off her headphones.  
"Garrus, what can I do for you?"  
He shuffled from one foot to the other, seemingly unsure of what to say, before kneeling down beside her and pressing his lip plates to her forehead. "I'm sorry."  
"It's okay, I think we're even. I'm sorry I lost my temper." She brushed her hair from her face, looking at him and failing to understand what was going on in his head. It was hard enough figuring out what a member of the opposite sex in the same species was thinking, never mind an alien man. Shepard rarely thought of Garrus in those terms, but she couldn't forget the difference entirely.  
"You had every right, I shouldn't have tried to, y'know, while we were so angry with each other. It was degrading to both of us, you mean more to me than that."  
As he looked down at her, Shepard twigged what the emotion behind his eyes was. Fear. He was afraid he'd ruined everything. She leaned over and stroked his fringe, while attempting a reassuring smile.  
He sighed with relief. "So, Sidonis, eh?"

**[Author's Note: Sorry this is a pretty short chapter guys, I've written a lot today and now suffering from a bit of writers block as I try and work out the specifics of getting everyone where I want them to be. Hope to have the next chapter out in a few days. Thanks for reading so far, hope you're enjoying and please review if you have time. Your feedback gives me a lot of help with what I'm doing right and does influence where I take our characters next.]**


	7. 7: Closure

**Kaidan Alenko**

_How the hell did I manage to make her hate me so much? _He wondered as he stared out onto the great void of space that stretched in front of him. _I know I screwed up, but why have I let it go on like this? I need to talk to her. But how, when every time I try I just make things worse? I wish I could just let it go, but every time she looks at me like that, another part of me dies. I thought I'd lost her for good once and it nearly killed me too, and yet, every time she's around, I act like a total asshole. WHY?! She brought me a bottle of whiskey while I was in the hospital, came to see me every time I asked, so she obviously still cares. She doesn't want it to be like this any more than I do. I know she's moved on, but... I can't lose her completely. I have to make things right.  
_Resolved to change things, he left the observation lounge, and went in search of his CO.

**Shepard**

She sat at her desk, a steaming mug of coffee in hand, as her fingers toyed idly with the picture of Kaidan she could never bring herself to remove from her desk. Ever since she and Garrus had started seeing each other, it sat face down where it had previously had pride of place. Garrus was off calibrating, and in these rare moments alone she usually felt a little lost.

Shepard was no virgin by the time she met Kaidan, but she supposed he had really been her first love. She thought back to the way he'd shyly comforted her in her dark moments aboard the SR-1, unsure of crossing lines and of crew fraternization. Losing her had given him a certain strength of character, even if it had also destroyed their relationship. He had been such a green boy back then, compared to the man he was now. She wasn't sure which she found more comforting to have around. The old Kaidan was much kinder, but hung on her every word in a way she found frustrating. At least the Kaidan she knew now had a backbone, could stand up to her when he disagreed, even if he did it in the most personally hurtful way possible. She respected him more now, even if she liked him less.

EDI's voice disturbed her line of thought and filled her with dread when the AI declared that Kaidan wanted to see her, requesting permission to enter her quarters. She softly placed the picture back down next to the various images of her and Garrus that littered that corner of the desk. Shepard wasn't a particularly sentimental woman, or especially prone to decorate her quarters, but photographs had always been her weakness. Her family had kept boxes and boxes of photographs, dating back to the technology's advent in the 20th Century. Some in albums, some not. Shepard's mother had passed a few on to her when she entered the service, a small album filled with moments from her childhood. One of her sitting on her grandfather's knee as a baby, another of her curled up in her fathers arms as they both slept when she was 3, playing the piano age 12, graduating from boot camp at 18, a hundred moments in between.

Kaidan entered, looking around nervously.  
Wearily, Shepard looked up. "Kaidan. What can I do for you?"  
"Shepard. Could we talk?" He asked, his expression serious.  
"Sure. In fact, I could have sworn we were." She tried to smile.  
Kaidan's returned smile looked more like a grimace as he gestured to the sofa on the other side of the room, his gaze coming back to Shepard before falling on his image on the desk. "You still have that photo."  
"Congratulations, Major Obvious." She chuckled lightly.  
Kaidan moved over the the sofa, and she followed, still holding the picture she sat down in the butch pose she had grown accustomed to adopting as a female in the military. It felt a little strange to sit or move any other way now.  
"I thought you may have thrown it away. Wouldn't blame you after how I acted on Horizon, and the message I sent afterwards." Shepard thought she saw shame play across his features.  
"I couldn't just throw it away, not after everything. I realized on Horizon just how incompatible we always were. I loved you, Kaidan, and love, real love isn't something that just dissolves over time and distance. It changes, sure. But it doesn't go away. You were a huge part of my life. I can't re-write history, and I don't think I would if I could. I'm not in love with you any more, but that doesn't mean I don't still care."  
"I've been such a moron, Shepard. You are a great woman, and there isn't a day that passes that I don't regret losing you. I hate that you always seem so pissed off with me. I came here to apologise. For letting you go and save Joker alone. For Horizon. For everything after that."  
"Kaidan. I _ordered_ you to go and get everyone else off the ship. Who knows how many people would have died without you? Cerberus brought me back, but I can't guarantee they would have done the same for you. Please, don't feel guilty for being alive now. It's not like I'm dead. Not any more " Shepard took a deep breath and unsuccessfully fought back tears at the memory. "As for Horizon... Losing someone you love changes people. I know that, even more so now than I did then. I've lost a lot of people close to me now. Do you know how many people I've only kept alive through sheer gods-damn luck? I held other people's lives in my hands every day . I fought the reapers knowing that if I died doing so, it was okay, because I'd die anyway if we didn't win. So we went on a suicide mission and everyone came back alive, _and _we saved most of the crew from Collector abduction. Not because I'm a great woman, or Commander, or strategist, but because we were really _fucking_ lucky. We kicked the Reapers collective ass back into dark space because we were really fucking lucky. You know I've always been a pretty strict atheist but I have to admit I doubted myself more than once out there. I felt like the gods were on my side. I can't even remember the last time I was afraid for myself. I have died. Everything from now on is just borrowed time. And I still don't mind. Life is too short for regrets, so please don't count me as one of yours. Live your life and enjoy it."  
Kaidan chose that moment to wrap his arms around Shepard and kiss her hair, tears in eyes too now. Shepard hugged him back, just as Garrus walked back into their quarters. Garrus stood, staring at them for a moment or two before Kaidan opened his eyes and noticed the growling Turian hovering in the doorway. He let go of Shepard reluctantly and coughed, blushing crimson.

**Garrus**

Walking into the cabin he and Shepard shared, and seeing her hugging Kaidan made him inexplicably jealous. Logically, he knew that she didn't want the human, but that's the trouble with love... It's not very logical at all. He stood there growling for a moment before Kaidan noticed him. The shade of red Major Alenko turned only convinced his irrational self further of their guilt.

"Something I should know about, Commander?" He muttered, barely controlling the hurt and jealousy that was twisting into rage. Shepard turned around, face damp with tears and looked at him blankly.  
"Garrus. Kaidan came over to talk to me about old times," Her gaze turned to Alenko. "Kaidan, thanks for dropping by, it means a lot. I should probably talk to my fiancée now."  
"Yes, of course. I meant what I said Shepard. Don't forget it." Kaidan made a quick exit.

Garrus waited until he heard the elevator start moving before he turned back to Shepard. "Don't forget what, exactly?"  
Shepard sighed, "You'll flip if I use the exact words out of context right now, so let me paraphrase. He told me he regrets losing me and that he still thinks highly of me. We talked, I clarified that I still care about him, but I'm not in love with him any more. He still feels guilty for letting me save Joker alone. I told him he shouldn't. I told him that if he hadn't, he'd be just as dead as I was for two years and Cerberus probably wouldn't have brought him back with me. He apologized properly for how he's treated me since Horizon." She looked him in the eyes and raised a hand, a shushing motion, her eyes holding a warning not to talk over her. "Don't get all overprotective on me again Garrus. Yes, he was an absolute bastard to me, I'm not likely to forget that he broke my heart when I needed him at my side, but there's no point in him feeling guilty for it forever. I've moved on, that scar is healing. He needs to move on too. And he won't do that if he spends the rest of his life pining for a woman who died on him, but still waltzes by him every day as a constant reminder. I'm not the person I was then. Neither's he. It would probably be easier to go on hating him and not hear him out, but not very productive. It would have stopped both of us from living our lives. We may have even salvaged our friendship. But at least now I won't ever ask myself 'what if?' and I can honestly say to myself I did everything I could. End of story." She picked the photograph of Kaidan up off the coffee table and placed it next to the photographs of them together, not face down as it usually was but on display, off to one side, next to a picture of her and Tali in Purgatory, looking drunk and silly one night before the battle for Earth.

Garrus looked at his mate standing there and his heart melted. How she could be so reasonable, when everything in him would have demanded the man to get on his knees and beg for forgiveness, to humiliate him the way she had been humiliated. She was just so giving and good... So he gathered her up in his arms and pressed his forehead to hers. "I love you, Eloisa." He sighed. "You, are a great woman."  
"Funny you should mention that, Garrus. Kaidan said exactly the same thing. Well, minus the 'I love you' of course," She giggled into his chest. "and I love you too, Garrus Vakarian. Now, let's do some wedding stuff."


	8. 8: Drops of Jupiter

**Shepard**

She'd been on shore leave with Garrus and Vega, seeing what they could do to help clean-up operations on Earth when they had walked past a collapsed building and heard a human baby crying. Shepard instantly took control of the situation and asked EDI to scan the area, while calling in English to try and find out if there was anyone else alive with the child. No answers. No other life signs, according to EDI. Once they'd located the approximate vicinity of the baby, Garrus, Shepard and Vega began delicately pulling the rubble away, careful not to move anything that would disrupt the pile and cause a cave-in in the area. Eventually they happened upon a sight that made Shepard have to turn around and vomit. Garrus rubbed her back, muttering soothingly in his native language. The building had collapsed, crushing what Shepard assumed was the child's mother into something that effectively resembled a thin red paste, while leaving the child, no more than a couple of weeks old by the looks of it, completely unharmed, if slightly malnourished at this point.

Shepard regained her composure and breathed deeply. She walked over and bundled the child up in her heavily armoured arms, talking soothingly to the small, smelly bundle as it screamed with hunger and, quite probably, serious pain from nappy rash. It was a miracle the child was alive at all, to be honest. She instructed Garrus to radio the Normandy and get Karin ready for the little one's arrival.

"How am I going to tell the council about you, little one? What interesting circumstances for your first spaceship ride." She sighed.

**Anderson**

"Councillor Anderson?" The tiny form of Amelia appeared in front of him. "Commander Shepard is on Vidcomm. She wished for me to convey the urgency of her call."  
"Thank you, Amelia," he replied. "I'll take her call now."

He wandered over to the Vidcomm terminal and pressed to accept the call. Shepard's hologram popped up, pacing in front of the terminal, practically vibrating with anxiety. "Anderson. Small situation here. We went down to Earth to help out with some of the clean-up ops, and found ourselves a little prize. It appears the Normandy has a temporary crew member. We found a baby, Anderson. It's mother was dead," She shuddered. "Karin's checking it over now. I don't know what else to say or do, sir. No ID on the mother that we could find, so we don't really have any way of finding out who the child is or if they have any other family."  
"Shepard. Calm down. Go have a coffee, and I'll get back to you once I've spoken to the other members of the council. Have you and Vakarian considered adoption?"  
Shepard looked dumbstruck. "We've broached the subject, yes. I figured we'd wait til after the wedding, but I suppose..." She coughed. "I'd rather not get my hopes up until we know the child's condition, sir. And I'd have to speak to Garrus."  
"I'll present it as a possible option to the council then, give you a bit of thinking space. If not, the child will have to go to an orphanage. Unfortunately we don't have resources to re-unite so many lost children with their families right now. It could be an option further down the line, but that child will need to live somewhere in the meantime."  
"Absolutely sir. Thank you for taking my call."  
"Anytime, Shepard."

**The United Races Council**

"Councillor Anderson, we can't just give away children." The eternally stern Salarian councillor frowned.  
"I wasn't suggesting giving away anything, we have no idea who this child is, or if it has any other living family, and we don't have the resources to reunite every lost child with its genetic relatives. Shepard has admitted that they would likely be willing to take the infant on as their own, assuming it even lives. When I was last in contact with Shepard she didn't know much about the condition of the child, it was in medbay being tended to by the ship's doctor."  
Councillor Tevos piped up, waving a blue hand dramatically. "I think this sounds like a reasonable suggestion, Anderson. A lot of children are going to need new homes, and I think Shepard and Vakarian will make fantastic parents."  
The Turian councillor nodded in agreement. "Well, that's three to one, let us know if they agree and I'll personally have the paperwork drawn up, assuming they're happy for the child to have joint Turian-Human citizenship."  
"Of course, Councillor Sparatus."

**Shepard**

Chakwas passed the child to Shepard and smiled. "Congratulations, Commander, it's a girl." Karin winked, "Lucky we had that spare hospital bag hidden in here from when Private O'Malley fell pregnant, really. And this little bundle, is very lucky you found her when you did."  
The baby had stopped crying now that she had been washed and fed, and was now gurgling happily. She opened her eyes to look at Shepard and burped.  
"Well that's surprisingly endearing... What are we going to call you, little one?" Shepard looked at the child, transfixed. "We should probably ask Garrus for some hints, shouldn't we? Karin, could I take her up to my cabin for a little while? I'd like to speak to Garrus and show him this little miracle in private."  
"Well, she is pretty much fine, Commander, so I don't see why not. Take this lot up with you in case she needs anything." Chakwas loaded a med-bag with nappies and formula mix, as well as a few sterile bottles, blankets and sleepsuits. "You could probably make a makeshift cot up for her in a drawer if you pull one out and put it on the floor. It'd do for a couple of nights, at least until we figure out where she's staying long-term. I'll order a few more supplies for her from Earth."  
"Thanks Karin." Shepard walked over and kissed her friend affectionately on the cheek, before picking up the bag and heading up to her quarters.

**Garrus**

Garrus walked into their cabin to find Shepard singing, lying on the bed with the infant on her chest, eyes closed. He stood and watched for a moment, remaining as quiet as he could as he drank in the moment.

_"Now that she's back in the atmosphere,  
With drops of Jupiter in her hair, hey, hey,  
She acts like summer and walks like rain,  
Reminds me that there's time to change, hey, hey,  
Since the return from her stay on the moon,  
She listens like spring and she talks like June, hey, hey._

Tell me, did you sail across the sun,  
Did you make it to the milky way to see the lights all faded,  
And that heaven is overrated?

Tell me, did you fall for a shooting star,  
One without a permanent scar,  
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?

Now that she's back from that soul vacation,  
Tracing her way through the constellation, hey, hey.  
She checks out Mozart while she does tae-bo,  
Reminds me that there's room to grow, hey, hey.

Now that she's back in the atmosphere,  
I'm afraid that she might think of me as plain ol Jane,  
Told a story about a man who is too afraid to fly so he never did land.

Tell me, did the wind sweep you off your feet,  
Did you finally get the chance to dance along the light of day,  
And head back to the milky way?  
And tell me, did Venus blow your mind,  
Was it everything you wanted to find,  
And did you miss me while you were looking for yourself out there?"

Garrus thought over the lyrics and saw an odd similarity to Shepard herself... She opened her eyes to see him standing at the door, amusement in his eyes as he smiled at her. "How long have you been there?" she asked.  
"Long enough," He chuckled, "What was that you were singing, Mei-Mei?"  
"It's an old pop song from the late 20th Century AD. My mother used to sing it to me as a child, because her mother used to sing it to her, etcetera, etcetera. Strange coincidence for it to run through my family – at the end of the 20th Century AD when that song was written, we still hadn't found the Prothean archive on Mars," She smiled and sighed contentedly. "We'd gotten as far as putting people on our moon, and putting probes and mechanical drones on Mars to do some minor exploration, and we'd built our first space stations, but that was about it... Hang on a minute, you called me Mei-Mei, where did you pick that up from?"  
"I looked into endearments you humans use."  
"Mei-Mei's Chinese. I like it." She smiled. "No-one's ever called me that before. Special."

He walked over and sat on the bed next to his mate and the small child sleeping on her chest. "Does she have a name?" He asked, looking at the little girl.  
"How did you know she was a girl?" Shepard looked at him with suspicion in her eyes.  
"She's wearing pink. I assumed, since I've been looking up human social conventions regarding children for a while now. Plus, she looks a worrying amount like you. That little nose is just adorable." He scratched Shepard's nose lightly with a talon.  
Shepard laughed lightly, careful not to move her chest too much or make loud noises. "Pretty much all human children look alike at this age. I spoke to Anderson earlier, he suggested that there may be a possibility of her staying with us. Is that... something you'd like?"  
"Oh, El, of course. I want a family with you. I'm never going to say no to the chance to have a child with you. In Turian society, the more children a woman has for a man, it is generally considered the more she respects him and his ability to care for those young. I know we probably won't have children that are ours genetically, but why the hell should that stop us?"  
His mate grinned from ear to ear. "She doesn't have a name yet, did you have anything in mind?"  
"How about Juno?"  
"Juno... I like it. Wife of Jupiter, mother of Mars and Vulcan. But I would love to know what it is with you Turians and Roman mythology. It's a bit creepy."  
Garrus put an arm around his love, rubbing his face against her hair. "Lots of war. Turians _love_ war."

**[A/N: As you can probably tell if you google the lyrics, the song mentioned in this particular chapter is Drops Of Jupiter by Train. Crappy 90s pop-rock. Thought the lyrics seemed very appropriate for the situation, and the whole Garrus/Shepard scenario.]**


	9. 9: Welcome to the Family

_****__[Author's Note: More reviews, please? I've posted several chapters now and not had any feedback. I do write this mainly for my own personal kicks but I get nice warm fuzzy feels when I hear if someone has enjoyed my writing. So, I would like to hear from you all. If there's anything you feel I could improve on, if there's anything you've enjoyed, please take the time to let me know. It really matters to me, and it will help influence where we take the story in the future. Thanks guys & girlies! - E.B.]_

**Anderson**

It felt strange to be aboard the Normandy SR-2 again, and even stranger to watch Shepard feeding the small child she and Vakarian were adopting. They sat on the sofa in the Captain's cabin as the turian chattered away about how amazing and unexpected it was to be a father, and how different human children were from their turian counterparts.

"Her eyes are blue, now, but such an unusual shade! Shepard said most human newborns have blue eyes, but often the colour changes as they mature. Isn't that fascinating?" He frothed with the enthusiasm of a new father.

Shepard looked up from the (now sleeping) baby in her arms, a contented smile on her face. "Would you like to hold her? I had a few things to go over with you, and I need to grab the datapads from my desk." She offered by way of explanation deftly transferring the small child over to him. The baby's shallow breaths made her chest rise and fall delicately, as a tiny hand reached out and grabbed a handful of his shirt. Anderson stared at the little form in his arms. When Shepard returned, carrying a large pile of datapads, she plonked them on the table and took little Juno from him, placing her in the middle of the large bed for the time being.

"We've got a preliminary list of potential candidates for the new police force for you, sir." She declared, transitioning into work mode seamlessly and handing a datapad over.  
"I know I told you these candidates would be assigned to police the council's new base of operations, but that wasn't strictly true. The council was just working out details before we told you. I'm sorry, I hate lying to you, Shepard, but you know politicians... The other members of the council moved to keep everything highly classified until they'd made their minds up for sure." Anderson sighed. "You'll be tasked with developing these new candidates into Spectres and Spectre Liaison Officers. The council knew things needed to change after Saren, but having dealt with the reaper threat, we can finally attempt a complete overhaul of the system. There'll be potential for all of them to be made full Spectres eventually, but there's going to be more of a command structure within the Spectres anyway. And, Shepard, you're going to be at the head of that. Congratulations."  
The woman's face went pale. "What? What about the other Spectres? You can't put me in charge of them. They won't have it. And that," she whispered. "is one _clusterfuck_ that I have no interest in."  
Anderson shook his head. " Shepard, you _are_ the only Spectre we have. The rest have been wiped out over the course of the reaper invasion. Spectres have traditionally worked alone, and that pretty much guaranteed their demise. You were the only one with enough good sense to acquire a team and stick with them."  
"So... I'll essentially be doing what?" She took a deep, calming breath and her features smoothed into her serene 'work-face' once more.  
"You've repeatedly proved yourself and your team trustworthy to the council. You will be working with us, delegating missions to the Spectres you believe are most appropriate for the mission. Spectres will be required to work in teams of at least 3, so you'll also be figuring out who works well together. In order to do this, you'll have to set up your own colony somewhere, a garden world out in the Attican Traverse would be a sensible idea."  
"Wow. That is quite an overhaul. What about Horizon? After the damage Cerberus and the Collectors did there, I'm guessing it'll be off the radar to most people for a while now."  
"Not a bad idea, Shepard. And it means that little lady," he looked over to the bed where the baby still slept soundly. "Can grow up on a planet, not in space. Now, to the real reason I'm here. I've brought the paperwork for Juno's adoption with me. Unfortunately, you'll have to fill out 3 sets of paperwork. One for her human citizenship, another for her turian citizenship and the final adoption papers from the council, since it's under council authority that she's being placed with you."

Shepard made a noise that could only be described as a squeal of delight as she took the forms from Anderson, reading them carefully before filling in spaces and leaving her signature and fingerprint in the appropriate spaces, and passing them on to Garrus. She walked over to the bed and picked the child up, gently stroking her little head. "Welcome to the family, Juno Shepard-Vakarian." She whispered.

**Shepard**

After Anderson had left, Juno had wanted to be fed, and changed, now she was sleeping soundly again in the makeshift cot they had fashioned out of several blankets and a drawer. Garrus snuck off to parts of the ship unknown, so she was left with a few rare and blessed moments of peace. Such moments had been rare before Juno's arrival on the ship, but since then, Shepard learned to make every moment count. She climbed in bed and hoped for a few uninterrupted hours of sleep.

Next thing she heard was the hiss of the doors opening as Garrus returned, a tray full of dextro and levo food in his arms. He set them down on the coffee table and perched on the bed next to her, stroking her hair delicately. "Hello beautiful," he whispered, as not to wake the baby. "Thought you might be hungry, so I made supper for us. Levo cooking is more difficult than I anticipated I have no idea what 'chicken noodle soup' is supposed to taste like, so I hope you like my attempt. Seems pretty good to me." He managed a chuckle and a grin, and in that moment Shepard was even more grateful for the anti-allergen implants Mordin had devised for them to allow the couple to indulge in the more subtle nuances of a long-term relationship, as well as other benefits such as sharing meals without worrying about anaphylactic shock. Of course if Shepard ate a dextro meal, or Garrus ate levo, they would have to eat again later anyway since their bodies couldn't process nutrients from the food properly, but at least they got to share the communal aspect of eating, and they enjoyed learning about the food from each others cultures. They could always munch a nutrient bar or two later, anyway.

She climbed out of bed, and they ate their meals in almost silence, occasionally looking up and grinning at one another. They were both unbelievably happy, but neither wanted to make a lot of noise for fear of waking Juno and losing the few minutes of peace and quiet they were likely to get together all day. They'd quickly learned the value of being able to eat food while it was hot without interruption. Almost every time they sat down to eat, Juno would inevitably stir and cry, demanding attention, food, or a clean bottom.

After they both finished, Shepard took her fiancé's hand, pulling him up and gesturing to the bathroom. Just as they closed the door behind them, Garrus pressed her into a wall.  
"So, why are we in here?" He murmured into her neck, lifting her t-shirt and tracing a talon up her spine, making her gasp and arch into him.  
"A little," She stopped as he kissed her shoulder, her mind voiding of all thought for a few seconds, "alone time." Shepard reached down to find Garrus hard and ready for her. Knowing their pleasure would have to be rushed, she undid his trousers, letting them drop to the floor before removing her own. Her skilled fingers began kneading the sensitive spot beneath his fringe. Garrus shuddered, before grabbing his mate's wrists and pinning them above her head, kissing her deeply and nipping softly at her tongue with his predator-sharp teeth.

Just then, Juno woke and began crying.

Shepard broke the kiss. Letting out an exasperated sigh, she drew away from Garrus and dressed so she could find out what their little miracle needed this time.

Garrus growled to himself lightly, resting his hands against the wall as he tried to calm his own desires. After a moment, he began to re-dress himself. "Children, who'd have them?" he sighed, as made his own way back into the bedroom to help.


	10. 10: A New Horizon

_[A/N: Just read through the last chapter with a fresh set of eyes, and honestly I don't know what is going on with my sense of sentence structure at the end there. Sincerest apologies. I'll try to go back and edit when I can. Thanks for your enduring patience. I'll have to consider getting a beta reader at some point, but I think that will probably interfere with my updating schedule so I will see how I manage over the next few chapters._

_We've got a bit of a time-skip here, a little over a year has passed. The council's new space station, Persephone, is nearing completion and replaces the Citadel in orbit of Widow. I'm imagining a very deathstar-like construction. Big, planet-sized, and well defended. Shepard and Garrus are now married, and Shepard-Vakarians have just moved into their very own base on Horizon, known as Prometheus._

_This chapter is going to be a lot of short paragraphs from various points of view as they get to know the base, and we'll be meeting a couple of O.C.s here too. Bit of a token chapter, just to ease into our new environment rather than flooding you with details next instalment.]_

* * *

**Shepard**

Touching down on Horizon, Shepard wanted to kiss the dirt. This was home now. Fresh soil beneath her feet. Trees, grass and flowers growing. No trace of Cerberus, who had defiled this planet in the facility they named Sanctuary, no trace of the Collectors, who had come before them. _This, _she thought as she took a deep breath of fresh air, _is what hope smells like. This is what we've been fighting for._ Hauling little Juno up into her arms, she looked up at the home they had been built. It was bigger than the others on the base, designed in the style of an old British manor house, ideal for entertaining. The long driveway rolling up to it wasn't quite what she had in mind, but she supposed it would sufficiently impress visiting dignitaries.

Walking inside and looking around, she found the interior was still minimalist and desperately in need of decoration. She carried the little girl upstairs and placed Juno down in the cot in her room, and much to Shepard's surprise, the little girl laid down to sleep. She tucked her in and whispered, "Sleep tight, sweetheart." before blowing her a kiss and leaving the room. Downstairs, she set herself to work unpacking. At least she could do something to make the large house feel like a home.

She had already started hanging photographs on the living room wall when Garrus came in, another crate of items from their cabin in his arms. "How could we possibly have stored so much stuff in such a small room?" He groaned.  
Shepard chuckled, taking the box from him. "We have a child. Children always end up with a shocking amount of _stuff._"

**Mark Babineaux**

It was certainly unusual to have been recommended for the Spectre program. He'd served a number of years in the Alliance Special Forces as a young man, and now as he was nearing his forties settling down on Earth, watching his brother's kids grow up around him, he was nominated for the job he'd dreamed of for a lifetime, but had never actually thought would come. Horizon didn't look anything like he'd imagined it when listening to the news reports or watching the vids of the Collector attacks. It looked peaceful. A lot like Earth, actually. That, he found surprisingly comforting. He headed for the barracks with renewed determination in his step.

**Lantar Sidonis**

It felt strange, landing on Horizon. The planet, while by no means untouched by the Reaper War, was surprisingly free of lasting damage. The few people who had come here at the time of the war were subject to indoctrination experiments by Cerberus, and thus there wasn't anything to attract the attention of the Reapers when they came. What was even stranger, was knowing that he'd been selected as part of the new Spectre training program, after everything he had done. His cowardice on Omega should have been enough to get his name crossed off the roster as soon as it appeared. He was sure this must have been an oversight, and didn't expect to stay long. However, as he looked around the base, and found his room in the newly built training barracks, he found himself wishing he could never leave. Atonement felt like it was within his grasp at last.

**Cera Henderson**

Grabbing her sea-bag and jumping off her shuttle, Henderson looked around anxiously. Being selected as a spectre candidate was scary. She'd only served a few short years in C-Sec and most of that had been spent doing fairly mundane beat work. A little bit of assisting in investigation, but nothing that made her stand out a great deal, until Udina had attempted his little coup. She'd found herself in a corridor with Cerberus troops coming towards her, and had taken out a number of them with her side-arm before being overwhelmed. She'd also been the one to administer first-aid to a few of her colleagues saving a couple of lives. That was the extent of her heroism, though, so she really wondered why she was here...

**Kaidan Alenko**

Looking around the base, Kaidan considered that giving up his role as a Spectre may have been a mistake. The place was certainly beautiful compared to how Horizon had looked when he'd last been here, during the Collector attacks. He still regretted the things he said to Eloisa that day, but at least now things were more comfortable between them. He'd never have her back as more than a friend, but as the days passed, and they finally got to know each other again, he realized that it could be enough. She'd been right when she said they hadn't been meant to be together. Maybe they could still find a place in each others lives. Maybe, just maybe, he'd even love again.

He watched the recruits filing off various shuttles and heading towards the barracks. There were 23 recruits in total this cycle. Kaidan estimated about 10 of them might make it through the training Shepard and Garrus had planned. He spotted a few humans huddling together instinctively, they probably weren't going to make it through, the tendency to stick only with your own species would definitely go against them in the challenges the next few weeks held. Same with a few Turians, another few Asari, although they would naturally do better at mixing due to their innate curiosity about other species. On the outskirts, he spotted the more promising candidates, carefully looking around, judging the situation, weighing up what they could see of the other candidates personalities.

He spotted a young human women he recognized as a C-Sec officer. She'd always been exceptionally polite when he'd walk past her back on the Citadel. _Yeah, _he thought, smiling to himself, _I hope she makes it through. _


	11. 11: Damaged

**Sorry for the massive delay in updates, I've had no idea where to go with aspects of this story for a while and worried that I was starting to stagnate.  
Anyway, on with the show.**

Cera hung back from the throng of recruits gathering outside the briefing room. Most of the various candidates were still in the cliques they had formed when they arrived, but she noticed a few of the others who, like her, were remaining fairly solitary. When they were all ushered into the room, she took a seat between a turian and a human male that she'd observed as keeping to themselves.

Commander Shepard stood at the front of the room, hands behind her back in that trademark posture, next to her Turian husband and a human man Cera vaguely recognized as being from Shepard's original squad on the mission to track down Saren Arterius, rogue spectre and indoctrinated reaper slave. Up close, the woman was even more beautiful than she'd looked in the vids Cera had seen. Perhaps beautiful may have been the wrong word. Shepard wasn't a classically gorgeous woman, not an hourglass-shaped femme fatale, but she looked strong. A crueller person may have described her as 'handsome'. Her hair fell in a sleek chin-length bob that picked up the artificial lighting of the room, and her slight frame was offset by her impressive height. She was around shoulder-height against Vakarian, and he was clearly over 6 feet tall, on the short side of average for a Turian male. Cera had to admit they were a good-looking couple, even though she didn't usually find aliens or other women attractive. Well, there was that one time in college, but...

Cera was jolted from her thoughts as the Commander began to speak.  
"As you're all probably aware, I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favourite briefing room on the Citadel... " Shepard's face wore a wry smile as she observed the candidates. As her posture relaxed, a few recruits dared to release the chuckles they had suppressed while others simply looked aghast at her display of humour. Indicating the men at either side of her, she continued,  
"This is my husband, Garrus Vakarian, and this is Kaidan Alenko,"  
She looked around. Her tone took on a more precise and military air to it, the pace of her words picking up as she projected her voice to the back of the room. She wasn't shouting, there was no strain to her voice, it was simply loud.  
"You are here at the Horizon Spectre Academy because you have been nominated on the grounds that you have Spectre potential. As you may or may not be aware, under the old system it was up to individual races' governments to decide on spectre candidates, before submitting them directly to the council. This academy is now the step in between. Over the coming weeks you will undergo training and simulations in order for us to decide whether you have what it takes to be a Spectre.  
"Today, since we are still settling in and waiting for some of your instructors to arrive, we will all be taking part in some trust exercises. You will all be working very closely and some of the challenges to come may have you in situations that you might not want to be in with a perfect stranger.  
"I also hope I am clarifying unnecessarily, but xenophobia of any sort will not be tolerated at this facility," She looked to the humans and the turians, huddled in their respective groups on opposite sides of the room. "That means no re-enactments of the First Contact War, boys and girls."  
Vakarian coughed and muttered into his fist in a less-than subtle manner. "Relay 314 incident."  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Vakarian," Shepard flashed him a grin and turned back to the group, dramatically rolling her eyes. "Fine, no re-enacting the _Relay 314 incident._ Get yourselves into groups of six, grab a coffee and have a chat. We will get started in 10 minutes."

Cera looked to the human male to her right and the turian to her left. _Seems like a sensible place to start, _she thought, steadying her nerves with a dose of false-confidence. Standing up, she pulled her chair forward with her and swung around to face them, before sitting astride the chair backwards. "Hey. You guys are with me, any objections?"  
The men both shrugged and sat back in sullen silence.  
_Okay, thanks for making my life easy here, boys, _she sighed internally. She looked between the pair. "I'm Cera. Cera Henderson. And you are?"  
"Lantar Sidonis." The turian answered first.  
"Mark Babineaux." The human chipped in.  
"Nice to meet you both. So, we need to more people for our group, I suppose we ought to get on to that. I don't fancy seeing Commander Shepard when she's angry!" Cera giggled, her nerves betraying her.  
Just then, a pair of young asari that appeared to be twins, came over to their little gathering. The one on the left asked in a small, shy voice. "I don't suppose you would mind if we joined you? It's just almost everyone else seems to have organized their groups already. Well, apart from him," she looked over in the direction of a tall, well-built turian who was leaning against a wall, doing his best to look bad-ass and intimidating. "But he doesn't look particularly friendly, if you don't mind my saying so."  
Cera looked at the girl and smiled. "Sure, grab a seat. Also, I'm sure he's fine. Looks like the macho type. Full of bravado, but I bet his bark is worse than his bite. My name's Cera, what are yours?"  
"Mirabelle and Marianne Urdnot." Her expression held a little anxiety that hinted she was expecting to be quizzed about their very Krogan surname.  
"Pleasure to meet you both. This is Mark Babineaux, and this fine example of a Turian is Lantar Sidonis."  
"Nice to meet you." They inclined their heads respectfully, and spoke in unison.  
Cera had decided to test her theory about the turian, so she looked over at him until he happened to glance over in their direction. She met the challenging stare he gave her and made a beckoning gesture, smiling sweetly at him all the while. He looked away, visibly shaken, before regaining his composure and stalking over to the group.  
"Yes?" he asked, seriousness radiating from him as much as the musky smell of his cologne, which she had to admit, was kind of sexy.  
"Sit down," Cera offered, making no attempt to hide the amusement playing across her face. "You appear to be on your own, _sans_-group, so to speak, and we need an extra person. A mutually beneficial arrangement, I guess?"  
The sigh he gave ran through his whole body, as he scanned the room and saw everyone else paired off. No escape. "Sure." He pulled up a chair.  
"I'm Cera Henderson. Meet Mirabelle and Marianne Urdnot, Mark Babineaux, and Lantar Sidonis." Cera indicated the asari twins, the human man, and the other turian in turn.  
"Matteus Kendrial." He snapped.  
_He really couldn't have been more passive-aggressive about it if he had tried_, Cera thought. Her curiosity peaked. _Perhaps he really is trying. What is his game?_

Some time later, when Shepard wandered back into the room, a steaming mug of coffee emblazoned with the new United Races Council logo in one hand and a folder in the other. She sat cross-legged on a table and placed the mug and the folder down to either side of her. The chatter throughout the room cut off abrubtly as she cleared her throat.

"Trust exercises, boys and girls!" she declared loudly, voice demanding the attention of everyone in the room. "These will help your team building, as well as your personal confidence. But first, it appears I need to go through the teams you have formed. Some of these exercises will function best when used on mixed-species groups and so," she pointed to the human, turian and asari cliques, "you guys need to swap a few members. Nice to see the loners eventually banded together though. Best teams form that way. Hell, I defeated the reapers by picking up waifs and strays!" She shot Cera's group a glance and winked.  
Shepard walked over to the other recruits and separated them into mixed-species groups; two asari, two turians, two humans per group. Quite a few of the candidates were visibly uncomfortable with the change, but none of them had the backbone to openly go against the commander's orders. She made a mental note of which candidates looked particularly pissed off at having to leave their friends in case of any problems later.

Vakarian spoke up. "We will begin your first exercise. Split into pairs, one of you setting your Omni tool to stopwatch functionality. You are going to spend 60 seconds staring into the eyes of your partner. Once the you have completed a full 60 seconds of eye contact without laughing or looking away, you will switch partners. When everyone your group has done so with everyone else, we can move on. Begin."  
"Garrus, you sound like my old drill sergeant. Relax a little." Shepard whispered into his ear when she crossed the room to observe the candidates with him.  
"I am relaxed, but if we all seem too friendly they won't take this seriously." He frowned, placing a hand on her arm.  
"Nah, they'll take us seriously regardless. I _am_ Commander Shepard, after all. They will just think you have a stick up your ass if you keep acting like that."  
"Well, it's the stick up the ass or the stick I beat people to death with, your choice." He chuckled.

Cera looked into Matteus's eyes and tried to maintain her composure. He was glaring at her as if he was attempting to bore a hole through her skull. She was supposed to be intimidated, afraid. Unfortunately, her instinct was to laugh. He wasn't effortlessly cool. He wasn't really a bad guy. He was just trying way to hard to look like one. "Lose the death stare, Kendrial, and maybe I can take you seriously." She muttered teasingly under her breath.  
He looked startled for half a second. "Shut up _human._"  
"Ooh xenophobe, now, are we? Nice." Her whispered tone was mocking.  
"No."  
"Then why address me as '_human'_? You know my name."  
A frown set in on the Turian's face and he settled into stoic silence.  
Oh yes, Cera thought, this was going to be _fun._


	12. 12: Break The Ice

**Sorry for the massive delay in updates, I've had no idea where to go with aspects of this story for a while and worried that I was starting to stagnate.  
Anyway, on with the show.**

***

Cera hung back from the throng of recruits gathering outside the briefing room. Most of the various candidates were still in the cliques they had formed when they arrived, but she noticed a few of the others who, like her, were remaining fairly solitary. When they were all ushered into the room, she took a seat between a turian and a human male that she'd observed as keeping to themselves.

Commander Shepard stood at the front of the room, hands behind her back in that trademark posture, next to her Turian husband and a human man Cera vaguely recognized as being from Shepard's original squad on the mission to track down Saren Arterius, rogue spectre and indoctrinated reaper slave. Up close, the woman was even more beautiful than she'd looked in the vids Cera had seen. Perhaps beautiful may have been the wrong word. Shepard wasn't a classically gorgeous woman, not an hourglass-shaped femme fatale, but she looked strong. A crueller person may have described her as 'handsome'. Her hair fell in a sleek chin-length bob that picked up the artificial lighting of the room, and her slight frame was offset by her impressive height. She was around shoulder-height against Vakarian, and he was clearly over 6 feet tall, on the short side of average for a Turian male. Cera had to admit they were a good-looking couple, even though she didn't usually find aliens or other women attractive. Well, there was that one time in college, but...

Cera was jolted from her thoughts as the Commander began to speak.  
"As you're all probably aware, I'm Commander Shepard and this is my favourite briefing room on the Citadel... " Shepard's face wore a wry smile as she observed the candidates. As her posture relaxed, a few recruits dared to release the chuckles they had suppressed while others simply looked aghast at her display of humour. Indicating the men at either side of her, she continued,  
"This is my husband, Garrus Vakarian, and this is Kaidan Alenko,"  
She looked around. Her tone took on a more precise and military air to it, the pace of her words picking up as she projected her voice to the back of the room. She wasn't shouting, there was no strain to her voice, it was simply loud.  
"You are here at the Horizon Spectre Academy because you have been nominated on the grounds that you have Spectre potential. As you may or may not be aware, under the old system it was up to individual races' governments to decide on spectre candidates, before submitting them directly to the council. This academy is now the step in between. Over the coming weeks you will undergo training and simulations in order for us to decide whether you have what it takes to be a Spectre.  
"Today, since we are still settling in and waiting for some of your instructors to arrive, we will all be taking part in some trust exercises. You will all be working very closely and some of the challenges to come may have you in situations that you might not want to be in with a perfect stranger.  
"I also hope I am clarifying unnecessarily, but xenophobia of any sort will not be tolerated at this facility," She looked to the humans and the turians, huddled in their respective groups on opposite sides of the room. "That means no re-enactments of the First Contact War, boys and girls."  
Vakarian coughed and muttered into his fist in a less-than subtle manner. "Relay 314 incident."  
"Yeah, yeah, whatever, Vakarian," Shepard flashed him a grin and turned back to the group, dramatically rolling her eyes. "Fine, no re-enacting the _Relay 314 incident._ Get yourselves into groups of six, grab a coffee and have a chat. We will get started in 10 minutes."

Cera looked to the human male to her right and the turian to her left. _Seems like a sensible place to start, _she thought, steadying her nerves with a dose of false-confidence. Standing up, she pulled her chair forward with her and swung around to face them, before sitting astride the chair backwards. "Hey. You guys are with me, any objections?"  
The men both shrugged and sat back in sullen silence.  
_Okay, thanks for making my life easy here, boys, _she sighed internally. She looked between the pair. "I'm Cera. Cera Henderson. And you are?"  
"Lantar Sidonis." The turian answered first.  
"Mark Babineaux." The human chipped in.  
"Nice to meet you both. So, we need to more people for our group, I suppose we ought to get on to that. I don't fancy seeing Commander Shepard when she's angry!" Cera giggled, her nerves betraying her.  
Just then, a pair of young asari that appeared to be twins, came over to their little gathering. The one on the left asked in a small, shy voice. "I don't suppose you would mind if we joined you? It's just almost everyone else seems to have organized their groups already. Well, apart from him," she looked over in the direction of a tall, well-built turian who was leaning against a wall, doing his best to look bad-ass and intimidating. "But he doesn't look particularly friendly, if you don't mind my saying so."  
Cera looked at the girl and smiled. "Sure, grab a seat. Also, I'm sure he's fine. Looks like the macho type. Full of bravado, but I bet his bark is worse than his bite. My name's Cera, what are yours?"  
"Mirabelle and Marianne Urdnot." Her expression held a little anxiety that hinted she was expecting to be quizzed about their very Krogan surname.  
"Pleasure to meet you both. This is Mark Babineaux, and this fine example of a Turian is Lantar Sidonis."  
"Nice to meet you." They inclined their heads respectfully, and spoke in unison.  
Cera had decided to test her theory about the turian, so she looked over at him until he happened to glance over in their direction. She met the challenging stare he gave her and made a beckoning gesture, smiling sweetly at him all the while. He looked away, visibly shaken, before regaining his composure and stalking over to the group.  
"Yes?" he asked, seriousness radiating from him as much as the musky smell of his cologne, which she had to admit, was kind of sexy.  
"Sit down," Cera offered, making no attempt to hide the amusement playing across her face. "You appear to be on your own, _sans_-group, so to speak, and we need an extra person. A mutually beneficial arrangement, I guess?"  
The sigh he gave ran through his whole body, as he scanned the room and saw everyone else paired off. No escape. "Sure." He pulled up a chair.  
"I'm Cera Henderson. Meet Mirabelle and Marianne Urdnot, Mark Babineaux, and Lantar Sidonis." Cera indicated the asari twins, the human man, and the other turian in turn.  
"Matteus Kendrial." He snapped.  
_He really couldn't have been more passive-aggressive about it if he had tried_, Cera thought. Her curiosity peaked. _Perhaps he really is trying. What is his game?_

Some time later, when Shepard wandered back into the room, a steaming mug of coffee emblazoned with the new United Races Council logo in one hand and a folder in the other. She sat cross-legged on a table and placed the mug and the folder down to either side of her. The chatter throughout the room cut off abrubtly as she cleared her throat.

"Trust exercises, boys and girls!" she declared loudly, voice demanding the attention of everyone in the room. "These will help your team building, as well as your personal confidence. But first, it appears I need to go through the teams you have formed. Some of these exercises will function best when used on mixed-species groups and so," she pointed to the human, turian and asari cliques, "you guys need to swap a few members. Nice to see the loners eventually banded together though. Best teams form that way. Hell, I defeated the reapers by picking up waifs and strays!" She shot Cera's group a glance and winked.  
Shepard walked over to the other recruits and separated them into mixed-species groups; two asari, two turians, two humans per group. Quite a few of the candidates were visibly uncomfortable with the change, but none of them had the backbone to openly go against the commander's orders. She made a mental note of which candidates looked particularly pissed off at having to leave their friends in case of any problems later.

Vakarian spoke up. "We will begin your first exercise You will split into pairs and one of you will set your Omni tool to stopwatch functionality. You are going to spend 60 seconds staring into the eyes of your partner. Once the you have completed a full 60 seconds of eye contact without laughing or looking away, you will switch partners. When everyone your group has done so with everyone else, we can move on. Begin."  
"Garrus, you sound like my old drill sergeant. Relax a little." Shepard whispered into his ear when she crossed the room to observe the candidates with him.  
"I am relaxed, but if we all seem too friendly they won't take this seriously." He frowned, placing a hand on her arm.  
"Nah, they'll take us seriously regardless. I _am_ Commander Shepard, after all. They will just think you have a stick up your ass if you keep acting like that."  
"Well, it's the stick up the ass or the stick or I beat people to death with, your choice." He chuckled.

Cera looked into Matteus's eyes and tried to maintain her composure. He was glaring at her as if he was attempting to bore a hole through her skull. She was supposed to be intimidated, afraid. Unfortunately, her instinct was to laugh. He wasn't effortlessly cool. He wasn't really a bad guy. He was just trying way to hard to look like one. "Lose the death stare, Kendrial, and maybe I can take you seriously." She muttered teasingly under her breath.  
He looked startled for half a second. "Shut up _human._"  
"Ooh xenophobe, now, are we? Nice." Her whispered tone was mocking.  
"No."  
"Then why address me as '_human'_? You know my name."  
A frown set in on the Turian's face and he settled into stoic silence.  
Oh yes, Cera thought, this was going to be _fun._


End file.
